Man denies charge stemming from strip club killing

Dec. 21, 2013 - 04:31PM
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CASPER, WYO. — A former Marine accused of shooting a man to death outside a strip club near Casper has pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder.

The Casper Star-Tribune reports 33-year-old John Henry Knospler Jr. entered his plea Friday in the October death of 24-year-old James Baldwin.

Investigators say witnesses told them Baldwin was shot as he was trying to get into a car that Knospler was sitting in.

Knosplerís attorney, Joseph H. Low IV, says his client was acting in self-defense. He also noted that he spent his adult life following the rules and earning honors as a Marine during more than 100 combat missions in Iraq.

The former Marine has been living under his motherís supervision in Pennsylvania since the shooting.